Catch up with Smith and Lydia in this Impossible Series Short Story! Two years after being rescued from enslavement, Lydia is still haunted by what she endured in captivity. Smith is determined to help her heal, and he has a decidedly decadent plan to replace her nightmares with a hot fantasy involving their friend Dex.

Two darkly domineering alpha males. They’re mine, and I’m theirs. We’ll make our vows and declare our love for everyone to see. The three of us. Together forever. I love Joseph and Marco, and they love me. We’re done hiding our unconventional relationship. It’s time to make it official: I’m marrying my perfectly possessive men.

The first installment in the RENEGADE serial from USA Today Bestselling Author Julia Sykes When Ian saves Lissa from a terrible first date, he discovers that they share a sizzling physical connection. Unwilling to draw the seemingly innocent young woman into his world of violence and espionage, Ian tries to keeps his distance. But when the blonde bombshell willingly submits to his darkest desires, he can't resist. Ian vows to protect her from his secret life, but Lissa quickly becomes involved in the danger that surrounds him. What neither of them realize is that her secrets might put them both in greater peril than Ian ever imagined. Note: This is the first 20,000 word installment in a set of serialized novellas. TARGET has a cliffhanger ending.

Decadent Culture in the United States traces the development of the decadent movement in America from its beginnings in the 1890s to its brief revival in the 1920s. During the fin de siècle, many Americans felt the nation had entered a period of decline since the frontier had ended and the country's "manifest destiny" seemed to be fulfilled. Decadence—the cultural response to national decline and individual degeneracy so familiar in nineteenth-century Europe—was thus taken up by groups of artists and writers in major American cities such as New York, Boston, Chicago, and San Francisco. Noting that the capitalist, commercial context of America provided possibilities for the entrance of decadence into popular culture to a degree that simply did not occur in Europe, David Weir argues that American-style decadence was driven by a dual impulse: away from popular culture for ideological reasons, yet toward popular culture for economic reasons. By going against the grain of dominant social and cultural trends, American writers produced a native variant of Continental Decadence that eventually dissipated "upward" into the rising leisure class and "downward" into popular, commercial culture.

I'm hunting down the most heinous criminal I've ever encountered. The man known to us only as The Mentor abducts and tortures women. And now he's set his sights on me. As an FBI agent, I'm not accustomed to relying on a man to rescue me. But my sexy new partner Reed Miller is determined to protect me. He'll use any tactics necessary to keep me in his arms and out of the hands of The Mentor. Even if that means thoroughly seducing me. I'm helpless to resist his domineering allure, but I'm scared to surrender my ravaged heart. The madman stalking me wants my heart, my body, and my soul. If he captures me, death would be a mercy. Can I learn to trust in Reed's love and protection before it's too late? Or will I become The Mentor's newest plaything?

Abducted. Drugged. Broken. I am plaything, a possession. If I did ever have a name, I don't remember it now. Slaves don't have names. But then, my new Master rescued me and took me into his care. He protects me from the sadistic madman who is determined to steal me back from him. Master's touch keeps me sane. His control keeps me grounded in reality. I am utterly devoted to my savior, but his brand of rescue might leave me more broken than ever. Do I have a hope of finding freedom when he refuses to release my heart? Or is this new form of captivity exactly what I need to survive?

I don’t deserve her: the sweet, perfect angel with the sweet, perfect life. She doesn’t know anything about my violent past. But if I could just touch her, taste her, then maybe I could pretend her perfect world could be mine, too. I know I should stay away, but when she looks to me for protection, her fate is sealed. Ashlyn will be mine. Note: The Dom is the prequel to The Daddy and The Dom.

Haunted Empire shows that Gothic elements in Russian literature frequently expressed deep-set anxieties about the Russian imperial and national identity. Valeria Sobol argues that the persistent presence of Gothic tropes in the literature of the Russian Empire is a key literary form that enacts deep historical and cultural tensions arising from Russia's idiosyncratic imperial experience. Her book brings together theories of empire and colonialism with close readings of canonical and less-studied literary texts as she explores how Gothic horror arises from the threatening ambiguity of Russia's own past and present, producing the effect Sobol terms "the imperial uncanny." Focusing on two spaces of the imperial uncanny—the Baltic north/Finland and the Ukrainian south—Haunted Empire reconstructs a powerful discursive tradition that reveals the mechanisms of the Russian imperial imagination that are still at work today.

I can't afford to make mistakes. When you work for the FBI, mistakes can cost lives. Busting club Decadence for drug trafficking is my chance to prove myself. I'm not going to allow any arrogant, Dominant man to throw me off my game. Not even the notorious club owner, Derek Carter. He's the criminal I'm investigating, and I have to keep him close in order to uncover his secrets. But keeping him close to my body while guarding my heart is proving more difficult than I ever imagined. He might be my biggest mistake yet.

My beloved little sister was taken from me when we were children, sold by my sadistic brother to pay a family debt. I was too young to save her then. Too weak. Now, my body may be scarred, but I’m stronger than ever. With my clever little pet by my side, I’m capable of anything. Samantha has finally located my lost sister, Valentina. The cruel men who have held her captive for over a decade will suffer at my hands before I finally let them die. Valentina is closely guarded by a brutal drug lord, and he won’t let his possession go so easily. I want to leave Samantha behind, to keep her locked away somewhere safe while I dispose of my enemies. But my fierce pet refuses to be caged, and I know that I can’t do this without her. My family is within my grasp, but rescuing Valentina might cost the life of the woman I love. Note: This novella is not a standalone. It is a continuation of Samantha and Andrés' dark romance. The suggested reading order for the Captive Series is as follows: Sweet Captivity Claiming My Sweet Captive Stealing Beauty Captive Ever After